"The National Pastime" is an original song introduced in the first episode of the first season of the musical TV series '' Smash'', entitled "

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

". The song was written by

Marc Shaiman Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broadw ...

and

Scott Wittman Scott Wittman (born November 16, 1954) is an American director, lyricist, composer and writer for Broadway, concerts, and television. Life and career Wittman was raised in Nanuet, New York, graduated from Nanuet Senior High School in 1972 and a ...

, but in the show's universe, it was written by songwriting duo Tom Levitt (

Christian Borle Christian Dominique Borle (born October 1, 1973) is an American actor and singer. He is a two-time Tony Award winner for his roles as Black Stache in ''Peter and the Starcatcher'' and as William Shakespeare in ''Something Rotten!''. Borle also ...

) and Julia Houston (

Debra Messing Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing received short-lived roles on television series such as ''Ned and Stacey'' on Fox (1995–1997) and ...

) for their

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

musical '' Bombshell''. In the episode, Ivy Lynn (

Megan Hilty Megan Kathleen Hilty (born March 29, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She rose to prominence for her roles in Broadway musicals, including her performance as Glinda the Good Witch in ''Wicked'', Doralee Rhodes in '' 9 to 5: The Musical'', ...

) performs this

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

number, choreographed by director and choreographer Derek Wills (

Jack Davenport Jack Arthur Davenport (born 1 March 1973) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''This Life'' and ''Coupling'', and as James Norrington in the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' series. He has also appeared ...

), with a male ensemble in front of producer Eileen Rand (

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress and director. Known for often portraying eccentric and distinctive characters, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as no ...

), Derek, Tom and Julia as an audition for Derek to see if Tom and Julia want to work with him. The song is reprised in the workshop medley of the first season's seventh episode entitled " The Workshop" by Ivy, and by Karen Cartwright (

Katharine McPhee Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. In May 2006, she rose to fame as the runner-up on the fifth season of ''American Idol.'' Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records on Janua ...

) in the seventh episode of the second season "

Musical Chairs Musical chairs, also known as Trip to Jerusalem, is a game of elimination involving players, chairs, and music. It is a staple of many parties worldwide. Gameplay A set of chairs is arranged with one fewer chair than the number of players ...

". The song was originally released as a single at digital music retailers and is available as a track on the cast album '' Bombshell''.

Production

DFW.com describes the number as "Marilyn, now in love with Joe DiMaggio, tries to 'understand' baseball in a song laced with double-entendres". The scene cuts between "rehearsal-hall test and what the Broadway show might look like when fully lit and costumed."

Critical reception

Although Dodger Thoughts describes the performers as "enthusiastic" and full of "barely bridled sexuality," it notes that "corny doesn’t begin to describe he number" and concludes by saying "'The National Pastime' is a big fat swing, leg-kick and a miss." Dan from TV Fanatic named the song as his favourite from the pilot, saying it "blew imaway". Brittany Frederick of Starpulse.com comments that she "can't warm to

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

for some reason." Andy Swift of HollywoodLife describes "The National Pastime" as a "show-stopping number." DFW.com comments that "the song is staged with the razzmatazz that marks the best Broadway numbers, and when Hilty and a group of male dancers perform it, ''Smash'' begins to catch fire."

Release History

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Pastime, The Columbia Records singles Songs from Smash (TV series) Songs written by Scott Wittman Songs written by Marc Shaiman 2012 singles 2012 songs